Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a Key Player in Your Overall Health
Vitamin D, once linked to only bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, is now recognized as a major player in overall human health.
In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Anthony Norman, an international expert on vitamin D, identifies vitamin D's potential for contributions to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity.
Access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is also believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer.
Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D, including bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and uterine tissues.
According to Norman, deficiency of vitamin D can impact all 36 organs. Already, vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle strength decrease, high risk for falls, and increased risk for colorectal, prostate and breast and other major cancers.
An unrelated study also suggests that low vitamin D is associated with Parkinson’s disease. The majority (55 percent) of Parkinson's disease patients in the study had insufficient levels of vitamin D.
Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics has doubled its recommendation for a daily dose of vitamin D in children, in the hopes of preventing rickets and promoting other health benefits.
The new guidelines now call for children to receive 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, beginning in the first few days of life.
“ … Evidence has shown this could have life-long health benefits," said Dr. Frank Greer of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
| Vitamin D Dose Recommendations |
| Age |
Dosage |
| Below 5 |
35 units per pound per day |
| Age 5 - 10 |
2500 units |
| Age 18 - 30 |
5000 units |
| Pregnant Women |
5000 units |
WARNING:
There is no way to know if the above recommendations are correct. The ONLY way to know is to test your blood. You might need 4-5 times the amount recommended above. Ideally your blood level of 25 OH D should be 60ng/ml. |
It’s a tragedy that dermatologists and sunscreen manufacturers have done such a thorough job of scaring people out of the sun. Their widely dispersed message to avoid the sun as much as possible, combined with an overall cultural trend of spending more time indoors during work and leisure time, has greatly contributed to the widespread vitamin D deficiency that’s seen today.
There are only 30,000 genes in your body and vitamin D has been shown to influence over 2,000 of them. That is one of the primary reasons it influences so many diseases (as seen in the table below).
| Cancer |
Hypertension |
Heart disease
|
| Autism |
Obesity |
Rheumatoid arthritis
|
Diabetes 1 and 2
|
Multiple Sclerosis
|
Crohn"s disease
|
| Flu |
Colds |
Tuberculosis |
| Septicemia |
Aging |
Psoriasis |
| Eczema |
Insomnia |
Hearing loss
|
Muscle pain
|
Cavities |
Periodontal disease
|
Athletic performance
|
Macular degeneration
|
Myopia |
Pre eclampsia
|
Seizures |
Fertility |
| Asthma |
Cystic fibrosis
|
Migraines |
| Depression |
Alzheimer"s disease
|
Schizophrenia |
Vitamin D really isn’t a vitamin at all but a potent neuroregulatory steroidal hormone. It has become very clear that vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic across the world and is contributing to many chronic debilitating diseases.
In the United States, the late winter average vitamin D is only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. Meanwhile, it’s thought that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public.
Further:
• Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic in adults of all ages who have increased skin pigmentation, such as those whose ancestors are from Africa, the Middle East, or India, who always wear sun protection, or who limit their outdoor activities.
• African Americans and other dark-skinned people and those living in northern latitudes make significantly less vitamin D than other groups.
• 60 percent of people with type 2 diabetes have vitamin D deficiency.
• Studies showed very low levels of vitamin D among children, the elderly, and women.
• One U.S. study of women revealed that almost half of African American women of childbearing age might be vitamin-D deficient.
Vitamin D and Cancer
Given that cancer, heart disease and diabetes are three of the top causes of death in the United States, ensuring that you are getting enough of this crucial vitamin should be a top priority.
A study by Dr. William Grant, Ph.D., internationally recognized research scientist and vitamin D expert, found that about
30 percent of cancer deaths -- which amounts to 2 million worldwide and 200,000 in the United States -- could be prevented each year with higher levels of vitamin D.
Vitamin D has a protective effect against cancer in several ways, including:
• Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
• Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
• Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
• Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous
Beyond cancer, the researchers pointed out that increasing levels of vitamin D3 could prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year! And other studies showed that you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure.
Worried About Getting the Flu? Optimize Your Vitamin D
As we enter into flu season, you should know that your vitamin D levels play a direct role in your risk of getting the flu.